"Mom, Jon, it's him." She had heard Jordan say. She was so proud of her boys, how they had managed to remain strong through the entire ordeal, even if they were teenagers, she knew that no kid should be subjected to anything like what they had experienced.
Jon had run after his brother. She took a deep breath as she followed them down the stairs as if she was bracing herself to see Clark again.
And there he was, Superman suit and all.
She had not lost him after all. There had been times in the past she almost thought she would, but this time was even worse, so seeing him was almost surreal.
"Hey." His voice was tender, even emotional as he looked at her. With those green eyes that she adored. Even with his red and blue attire, all she could see was her husband, the man that had sacrificed himself for his family and come back fighting. Which only showed how much he loved them. She had held onto that hope, and they had proved to her father and John Henry Irons that this Superman was not like the one on his Earth.
She had told his Mother that he might be the world's hero but he was an even better man and she had never doubted it for a second.
"Hey, yourself." She had found her voice again. And the will to go and reach for him, the moment their lips touched, her heart jumped out of her chest. His hands reached instantly for her face and she felt tears in her eyes. Their eyes did the talking of unspoken words as the kiss deepened.
Air was becoming necessary at that point so they broke the kiss, but she didn't let go of him and he didn't pull back. Instead their eyes locked with each other and their foreheads pressed together.
She didn't know how long they had stayed like this, but she could see from the corner of her eye how the boys looked at them and her heart swelled for them. Jon quickly had tears in his eyes and Jordan somehow appeared to be more grown up than he was. So proud, and so much like his father.
For a moment, everything was okay, even though she knew this wouldn't be the end of Morgan Edge or his vendetta against humans or her husband for that matter, but for now, she would allow herself to enjoy having Clark back home, with her, their boys and apparently unharmed.
They pulled away finally and Clark turned to Jon and Jordan. "All right, you two."
The boys held on to him for dear life, Jonathan especially seemed to be as emotional as she was, he always did take after her more. "You did good."
"It was all his idea. We were just trying to think, what would you do?" Jordan told his father. And Clark couldn't stop smiling, she knew how proud he was of them, she would have to tell him the whole story later, how Jonathan had encouraged his brother and they had both worked together to help bring him home.
"How'd you do it, Dad? How'd you break free?" Jonathan asked.
"Thought about you guys, remembered what I was fighting for. " She could see John Henry Irons landing as well.
"I had a little bit of help." Clark said. Her always humble small town guy at heart.
She saw her boy's reaction to John, and how they seemed to be cautious of this new ally, which was no surprise considering they had had their encounters in the past and they hadn't turned out to be as friendly.
After all, he'd been a guy adamant to kill their father.
She had offered him to stay for dinner after formally introducing him to Jonathan and Jordan but he'd refused.
Saying family time was important, and it was, especially after the last few days.
They watched John Henry fly away and Clark pulled them all into a hug again.
After a well deserved dinner, the boys excused themselves, Clark had promised them they could talk a bit more in the morning, he knew they were tired, the emotions of the last few days had finally taken a toll on them.
If she was being honest, on her too, but she was not ready to give into exhaustion just yet.
She couldn't afford to.
"What?"Clark asked, he was back to being her husband, plaid shirts and all as they finished putting away the dishes the boys had washed.
"Nothing, I just love you so much." She said.
Clark's eyes softened behind his glasses.
"I love you too." He walked closer to her, his hands on her waist. "I'm sorry if I scared you."
"You didn't have much of a choice Clark, I get it."
"No, but even if it was a last-resort kind of thing, I shouldn't have made that decision so selfishly. If John hadn't been able to get through to me…"
"Babe…"
"No, I need to say it, because I did feel like I was losing control and even that night that Tal took me, it felt like that was it, I was leaving you and the boys and I hated myself for it."
"You did it to protect us, to save the boys."
"Yes, but I did it without thinking what that would even mean for you or them. For Jordan."
"Stop okay? I'm not letting you apologize for wanting to save us from a maniac."
"Who also happens to be my brother." Clark said bitterly. Lois touched his cheek tenderly.
"Only by blood." She told him. "He didn't have people like your parents who accepted him."
"Not to mention his father." Clark had explained to her what meeting Zeta -Rho had been for him, it was like it was much more than just the thirst for power. It was the sweet revenge he took from torturing the son of the woman who had left him.
"Clark, I'm so sorry…" She was holding him again, she could smell his cologne, his clean hair. Just him.
Her husband.
The father of her boys.
To the world, he was Superman, to her… the love of her life.
She kissed him, pouring all of her love and relief of having him back home into the kiss. He responded rather quickly, his tongue finding her mouth and asking for permission.
She gave it gladly. His hands were now caressing her face and her hands had wrapped themselves around his neck to pull him closer.
Soon enough they were in their bedroom. She took a minute to absorb it all, the idea of not having Clark in her life had scared her more than she had dared to admit, even if she was Lois Lane and she'd married Superman, the idea of a world without her husband, was something she couldn't even begin to fathom.
Loss had hit her hard recently, with Jonathan almost being killed and Natalie, the idea of the baby they didn't get to meet in the back of her mind, plus everything about Jordan.
"Lois?" Clark was looking at her, she knew she must have zoomed out, because his eyes were full of worry as they shined in the dim light of the bedroom.
His glasses were off, and even though he really didn't need them at home, he still wore them most times.
They were a part of Clark Kent as much as the red cape was Superman's. She caressed his cheek like she had done out back a few hours before. It was such a simple thing but it meant so much, she was telling him that even though she knew they needed to talk about the events of the last few weeks, right now, they didn't need words.
She didn't need words, she needed to feel. He kissed her again, softly and then more fiercely.
Or at least that's what she told herself.
Clark was kissing her everywhere she needed him to, after almost 20 years of being together, she didn't need to tell him exactly what she wanted. His lips were attached to her neck by that point but she felt him stop what he was doing and look deeply into her eyes. His weight and warmth were a welcoming sensation as he pulled her close with his hand touching her cheek and his finger cleaning the tears she didn't realize were falling made her break.
She had been holding them on for so long that her heart couldn't take it anymore.
"I thought I was going to lose you…" She finally said, her voice breaking.
Clark pulled them both into a sitting position on the bed, she realized, his arms around her as she shook.
"I know…" He said, a kiss to her temple. "It's okay."
"I don't even think I said I loved you when he took you. Everything just happened so fast…"
"You didn't have to say it babe. I know, I saw in your eyes." He told her. "That's I think why I didn't say it either, because you and me? We don't need words to say 'I love you'."
She forced herself to look up at him. He touched her chin tenderly and pulled her into a soft kiss. "No, I know, but… I just didn't think I could bear losing you Clark, I am not as strong as I seem."
"You are stronger than me." He told her. "You always have been. The way you handled the truth when I first told you who I was or when we found out about the boys or when we lost Natalie…"
They hadn't talked about her in so long. She was always in their mind, she knew, what she would look like, who she would take after, how she would have handled her father's secret.
She always thought of her, even if she didn't do it consciously.
"We were so excited to meet her." She said, still shaking. "She would have been our little miracle."
"I know." He said to her again. They had cried about it in the past, together and separately, she knew, each of them had processed it at some point, but there was still the 'what ifs' and she didn't think they would go away.
Even the fact that Jonathan and Jordan had survived had been a miracle, all of her children had been, even the little girl she could only see in her dreams now.
They hadn't lost hope for another child after Natalie, not that they thought it would be possible for them to get pregnant again, they had just allowed nature to take its course.
But it hadn't happen to them again and honestly, she wasn't surprised it hadn't.
She loved her boys with all of her heart, but there had always been that emptiness inside her, of that baby girl she had dreamed of having.
They remained wrapped in each other's arms for a few minutes.
"Do you think you'd feel better after a bath?" He asked after a long while. She nodded.
"Okay, I'll go get it ready." He didn't use his super speed or anything, maybe he understood she needed to take her time.
She moved to the nightstand once Clark had left for the bathroom and took a deep breath, she opened one of the drawers to take a picture out. It was a different one than the one she'd shown Jonathan. It was her and Clark almost 12 years before. He was kissing her belly. With their daughter growing inside her.
She closed her eyes to allow herself to be taken back to that moment and how complete she had felt.
A bath was just what she needed. Clark had come in bearing a glass of wine. It was kind of their thing, after a long day to wind down, talk and just enjoy each other's company.
"Here." He said softly, handing her the glass and taking a sip of his own. "Feel better?"
"I do, thanks babe, this was a great idea." She enjoyed the taste of the red liquid on her lips and melted against her husband's hand as he knelt beside her on the floor.
"Do you want to join me?" She said to him after a moment of just taking in her surroundings again, of the feel of warm water against her skin. It provided comfort, but not as strongly as her husband holding her would.
Clark raised an eyebrow at her playfully, eyeing the door and closing it at super speed. When she glanced at him, he wore nothing but his glasses. She felt herself blush at the look he gave her as he slipped in behind her. His body pressed against hers. He took his glasses off and put them on the side as he kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her.
"I really thought we wouldn't get to do this again."
"Me too." They kissed then, their movements were subtle, almost cautious until she felt bold and whispered.
"Make love to me Clark…"
He didn't need to be told twice.
Usually Clark loved to take his time in worshiping her body, and most of the time she'd let him, but tonight was quicker, urgent.
As if she felt she needed to make sure he wasn't going to disappear.
"I love you so much Lois…" He said as he moved inside her, her eyes were open as he kissed her. She allowed herself to be lost in the feeling of being connected like that again.
She remembered how worried he'd been about getting intimate with him when they had first started dating. But she had assured him all she wanted was him, no matter what.
"I love you. Always."
She laid in bed later at night, listening to Clark's breathing. Normally, the roles were reversed as he didn't need that much sleep. She had caught him more than once watching her.
But she guessed even for Superman, the last few days had been exhausting. She touched Clark's cheek softly, kissing his lips one last time before turning around, as in instinctively a minute later she felt his arms around her, his body pressed closer and his breathing against her neck.
He'd made it.
He was home.
This wouldn't leave me alone, just an a scene after Lois and Clark reunited in 1.12.
Sorry if there are any mistakes, this is not beta'd. I even felt emotional while writing this. Hope you liked it.
